Sweden finally elected a prime minister. She lasted for about 7 hours.
It seemed as if a new era was on its way in Sweden on Wednesday when Magdalena Andersson, the leader of the center-right Social Democratic Party, became the country’s first female prime minister.
Her historic term of office lasted about seven hours.
She resigned on Thursday, a day after a painful budget defeat in parliament. She had just formed a two-party minority government with the Green Party. But after their budget was rejected in favor of one of the opposition, which included the far-right Sweden Democrats, the Green Party left the coalition out of frustration. Andersson left without a partner.
Her departure put Sweden in political uncertainty. The country’s political landscape was already torn apart by fragile coalition governments and a vote of no confidence in June against former Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Mrs. Andersson later succeeded Mr. Lofven as leader of the Social Democrats.
At one point, Sweden received more refugees per capita than any other European nation. But its progressive image has been gradually eroded by the right-wing extremist populist sentiment that has taken hold, with the Sweden Democrats’ party at the forefront. The political spectrum has shifted to the right, with increasing anti-immigrant and anti-European voices.
Andersson, 54, announced that she was the new prime minister in a statement on Facebook a little before 10 o’clock local time on Wednesday. Shortly after 4.30pm the same day, she released a second Facebook statement announcing her resignation.
“According to constitutional practice, a coalition government should resign if a party leaves the government,” she said. “For me, it is about respect, but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be reason to question its legitimacy.”
The Green Party’s spokesman Per Bolund said that his faction left the government because the Riksdag approved a state budget negotiated by the Sweden Democrats. The party, with neo-Nazi roots and known for its anti-immigration policy, has seen a steady increase in popularity in recent years.
Until a new government is elected, the current one will remain. Andersson, who has been Sweden’s Minister of Finance since 2014, has said that she is still ready to serve as Prime Minister, but only in a one-party government.